See-saw swing



Jan. 2, 1934. w BOOTH 1,941,824

SEE-SAW SWING Filed Sept. 22, 1931 5$ zf'l fl T?::T.E-

/ i 50 INVENTOR A'FTORNEYS Patented Jan. 2, 1934 SEE-SAW SWING William Booth, Douglaston Park, N. Y.

Application September 22, 1931 Serial No. 564,322

4 Claims.

An object of the invention is to provide a device in the nature of a combined see-saw and swing which is designed to provide healthful exercise and amusement.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a device which may be easily and inexpensively constructed, which may be easily set up indoors or out of doors and which is so designed that it may be used not only by persons of equal weight but also by persons of unequal weight, or used by one person alone.

Several embodiments by which the invention may be practised are illustrated in the accompanying drawing, which forms a part of this specification.

Fig. 1 is a side elevation and Fig. 2 is a section on the line 22 of Fig. 1 showing one embodiment of the invention; Fig. 3 is a side elevation and Fig. 4 a plan illustrating the invention with another form of operating mechanism; Fig. 5 is a side elevation and Fig. 6 a section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5, showing a third form of operating mechanism; Fig. 7 illustrates various modifications which may be made in various embodiments, hereinafter more fully described.

Referring to the drawing, Figs. 1 and2 illustrate the see-saw swing in a position of rest 00- cupied by two persons. The position indicated by dotted lines of Fig. 1 is one which may be assumed by the device when it is in motion. A seesaw swing is shown in which the see-saw is constructed of two side members 10 and provided with suitable seats 11, which have supports in; the form of the horse heads 12. The see-saw is attached at or near its midpoint to a cross-bar 14 which is suspended from suitable supports, such as the eyes 15, by some flexible means such as the ropes 17 and 18. Chains or links might be substituted for the ropes 17 and 18. In the embodiment illustrated, a bar 20 is secured between the ropes 1'7 and 18 by suitable fittings 21 and carries at its center a suitable attachment for two ropes or chains 22 and 23. The lower ends of these ropes are secured respectively to the treadles 24 and 25. These treadles are of identical construction, the treadle 25 having two side bars pivoted to the two sides 10 of the see-saw by the bolts 28. The treadle side bars are joined at their lower ends by the cross-bar 29 and the foot bar 30. The cross-bars 29 carry the fitting to which the ropes 23 are attached.

The embodiment of Figs. 3 and 4 differs from the embodiment illustrated by Figs. 1 and 2 in the construction of the treadles. As shown in Fig. 3, the treadles of this form are made from pieces of metal pipe which are joined together at the hub 39. The pieces of pipe for each treadle are bent downward at an obtuse angle, as shown at 41, and provided with cross-bars 42 secured thereto by suitable fittings. A pivot 43 made of a single piece of pipe, passing through the see-saw and the hub 39, serves as pivot for both see-saw and treadles and as a point of attachment for the supports from which the seesaw depends.

Another form of the device which operates on the same principles as the two just described, but eliminates the necessity of the treadles, is shown in Figs. 5 and 6. In this form, the two ropes 22 and 23, shown in Fig. 1, are replaced by four ropes, 53-53 and 54-54, which are secured two at each end of the bar 21. Two pulleys are attached to each end of each of the side members 100 shown in Fig. 5 as the pulleys and 51. Each of the ropes is passed under a pulley 50 and over a pulley 51. Two of these ropes 53 and 54 are shown in Fig. 5. Each of the four ropes terminates in a stirrup 55. Secured to each pair of ropes just above the stirrup is a bar 56, the purpose of which will appear in the description of the operation. The pulleys are covered by suitable enclosures 57 in which are openings for the passage of the ropes.

For use by very small children unable to reach the stirrups 55, additional means for operating the see-saw are provided in the reins 58 which are secured to the suspension ropes 18 and passed through eyelets 59 on the sides of the horse heads.

In Fig. '7 are shown modifications which may be applied to any of the embodiments heretofore described. The see-saw swing is shown attached to a support comprising a base 60, uprights 61 and a cross-bar 62. Instead of being suspended by a single flexible means attached to each side of the cross-bar 14 of Fig. 1 or the pipe 43 of Fig. 4, a cross-bar 64 is provided which has two attachments 66 at each end for the supports 68. This method of support causes automatic levelling of the see-saw when it is unoccupied. Fig. 7 also illustrates means whereby the see-saw may be arranged to be used by only one person. A spring 69 may be attached to one end of the seesaw and to the base of the support in the manner shown which, by reason of its resiliency, will take the place of the weight of a rider on that end of the see-saw and make it possible for a single person to ride on the opposite end.

The operation of this device is as follows: Two persons occupy the seats 11 at opposite ends of the see-saw and place their feet on the foot bars of the treadles or in the stirrups, as the case may be. When the person on one end presses down on his treadle or stirrups he simultaneously decreases the weight on his end of the see-saw and puts a tension on the ropes connecting his treadle or stirrups with the supporting ropes of the see-saw. The unbalancing of the see-saw causes it to tilt and the alternate tension on the treadle ropes causes the whole device to swing. This results in a combined teetering and swinging. Being supported from above, the see-saw may freely swing and may also teeter in both di rections, both when it is swinging and when it is not swinging, thereby giving the riders a vertical movement when not swinging and a com bined horizontal and vertical movement when swinging. To prevent excessive teetering inbve ment of the see-saw and make it safe for children to operate, it is so constructed that one end of the see-saw cannot be depressed beyond the helm where the side members 10 of the seesaw come in eonta'et with the cross=bars 29 ef the treadles in Fig. 1. In the embodiment of Figs. 3 and 4 the movement of the see-saw is limited by the side members lea coming into contact with the cross-bars 42. When the con struction of Figs. 5, 6 and 7 is used it is desirable to seeure a bar 56 between the two stirrup ropes which will support the side members 100 and limit the movement of the see-saw. Thus the teetering movement or the see-saw in both direetiehs is limited at all times by means connected to the suspending means and to the seesaw.

The operation of the construction shown in Figs. 5 and '6 is the same as that of the other devices illustrated with the additional feature of being able to produce a swinging movementby means of the reins 58.

in operating the see-saw swing shown in Fig. '7, adapted fer use by one person, the seat opposite the end to which the spring 69 is attached is occupied. Pressure in the stirrups will relieve weight on the end of the see saw and it will rise due to the downward pull of the spring on the opposite end. By reason of the up and down movement of the see-saw, the shifting of weight from the see-saw to the stirrup and the resiliency of the spring 69, the device will swing at the same time that it teeters.

It is not the intention to limit the invention to the embodiments illustrated and described and it is understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A see-saw swing comprising a see-saw suspended at its midpoint, a plurality of suspension means therefor, flexible tension members attaeh'ed to said suspension means, a pair of pulleys attached to each end or cash side of the see-saw, each pair adapted to receive one of said tension members, and stirrups on the ends of said tension members.

2. A see-saw swing comprising a see-saw suspended near its midpoint, suspension means therefor, treadles pivotally connected to the seesaw near its midpoint and extending below the ends of the see-saw, tension members connected to said treadles and to said suspension means, and means carried by said treadles for limiting the movement of the see-saw with reference to said treadles.

3. A see-saw swing comprising a see-saw adapted and intended to teeter in both directions and to carry a rider at each end, suspending means attached to said see-saw near its middle and supporting it from above so that it may freely swing and may also teeter in both directions' when swinging and when not swinging, thereby giving the riders vertical movements when not swinging and combined horizontal and vertical movements when swinging, and means connected to said suspending means and to said see-saw for causing the device to swing and teeter and for limiting the teetering movement of the see-saw in both directions at all times.

4-. A see=saw swing comprising a see-saw adapted and intended to teeter in both directio'n's and to carry -'a rider at each end, suspending means attached to said see-saw near its middle and supporting it from above so that it may freely swing and may also teeter in both directions when swinging and when not swinging, treadles pivotally attached to said see-saw and extending within the reach of the feet of each rider, connecting means between said suspending means and each of said treadles, and means i or limiting the relative movement of said treadles and see=saw whereby the teetering movement of the latter is limited in both directions at all times.

WILLIAM BOOTH. 

